TowerWeb Productions
The Alternative Library

The Naomi Clark Interview

Author of "Painless"

For the Winter 2008 Issue, JJ and I met online with Naomi Clark, author of "Painless." We had a very informative conversation that covered everything from filming zombies in the UK (where she takes up residence) to best practices for introducing unusual hair color for fictional characters. Be sure to check out Naomi's blog, The Lunatic Horizon, and be on the watch for an upcoming publication in Dark Fire e-zine. Time allowing and authors willing, JJ and I will continue to publish a new author interview in each issue of the Midnight Times. As always, Enjoy! -- Jay Manning, MT Editor

THE INTERVIEW

JJ Collins: Hello, all!

Naomi Clark: Nice to meet you both!

Jay Manning: Good day, Naomi. Nice to meet you as well. I just climbed out of bed, being here in the central U.S.

Naomi: I think I've already been up too long.

JJ: Give us a short summary of your day, Naomi. I'm curious as to what's going on, on that side of the pond.

Naomi: Today, or a typical work day?

JJ: Typical work day and then today.

Naomi: I'm usually up at around 6:00 AM and at work by 8:00 AM. I work at a math research institute as a secretary/administrator, so I spend a lot of time arranging seminars and showing new researchers around the building. I'm usually home by 6:00 PM. I try to squeeze an hour of writing in after eating, and then put on a DVD and fall asleep pathetically early.

Jay: I can relate to the falling asleep pathetically early.

JJ: What was today like?

Naomi: Christmas shopping! Pushing my way through crowds, fighting to grab presents, desperately trying to figure out how much money I have left--the usual Christmas chaos. I'm all finished now. I feel very relieved.

Jay: I wanted to get started last night, but my wife said, "No way! It's too early!"

JJ: So tell us a bit about your inner writer. When did you realize you wanted to write?

Naomi: One of the earliest things I remember doing is writing. I used to make little notebooks out of folded sheets of A4 paper and write stories about horses in them.

JJ: Did you always gravitate toward fiction or were there other areas that interested you first?

Naomi: I spent a few years writing poetry--I always thought I would stick with that, but when I hit my teens I discovered fantasy and got hooked on Tamora Pierce. The poetry got almost completely sidelined after that.

JJ: Do you recall when did you wrote your first short story?

Naomi: Possibly it was one of the horse stories when I was maybe 8 or 9. Although if you mean the first good short story, that probably didn't happen until I applied for university. I wanted to do a creative writing degree and had to submit a portfolio of work to be accepted, so I knocked something together with flying pirate ships and dragons.

JJ: Who are some of your fictional influences? What authors inspire you?

Naomi: Well, I already mentioned Tamora Pierce. I wrote my first (very bad) novel after reading her Wild Magic books. I also love a lot of the new urban fantasy authors coming out at the moment--Richelle Mead, T.A. Pratt and Lilith Saintcrow are all brilliant.

JJ: Are there any television shows that you like (for either the writing or just entertainment)?

Naomi: I love American Dad and Futurama, both for the entertainment and the sharpness of the writing. Supernatural is great too, for the imagination that goes into the stories.

JJ: I love those too. What was your favorite Supernatural episode?

Naomi: The "Bloody Mary" one from the first season--so creepy!

JJ: I hadn't seen that. Can you give us a short synopsis?

Naomi: Some young girls at a party dare each other to chant the old "Bloody Mary" rhyme at a mirror. One of them does, and shortly after, the girl's father dies. When Dean and Sam roll into town, they discover this happening more often, not to the people calling Bloody Mary, but people close to them who have cheated, lied or hurt someone. The climax is fantastic--they find themselves in an antique store full of mirrors, where they have to lure Mary out. Sam is almost lost when his guilt over his girlfriend's death calls Mary to him. It's just awesome--atmospheric and genuinely frightening.

JJ: Is that why you liked it so much, the genuine frightening aspect?

Naomi: I think so. It's rare to find television shows or films that really do shake you up. A lot of the horror genre is very predictable, in my humble opinion. After that episode I had trouble looking in the mirror for a while!

JJ: What are some other horror shows or movies that you saw and really liked for the same reasons?

Naomi: I had the same problem with my TV after watching Ring. The Japanese film Audition was very disturbing.

JJ: You know I have been trying to find Audition, and can't. What did you think of the Ring sequel?

Naomi: It's worth getting hold of if you're a fan of horror or Asian cinema. Truly, truly frightening.

Jay: I've always intended to watch the original Japanese version.

JJ: I'm not necessarily a fan of Asian cinema, but I heard Audition was a horror classic, and I've had the hardest time finding a copy to watch.

Naomi: It's very well done. I think it's scary because it could actually happen.

JJ: Did you see the sequel to The Ring?

Naomi: I've seen the Japanese version, but not the American.

JJ: Are there any horror books that you've read and really been creeped out by?

Naomi: Have you heard of World War Z? I read that recently and was a bit freaked out. It's presented as being non-fiction, and the author really nailed it.

JJ: Who is the author? I can add it to my "to read" list.

Naomi: Max Brooke. It's about zombies, which are always an entertaining subject.

JJ: Speaking of zombies, have you seen the movie 28 Days Later? Well, not technically zombies, but I digress.

Jay: I'd say they qualify as zombies, despite technically being virus infected humans. There's also (more recently) 28 Weeks Later. I believe both of those were filmed in the UK, actually.

Naomi: I saw 28 Days Later when it first came out. That was another one that scared me! Again, because it was presented in such a matter-of-fact, this-could-happen-way. The first one was shot in London--those opening scenes of the empty streets are incredible.

JJ: I know! Everyone I talked to about it asked how they shot that. I wonder if it was CG or if they actually got everything cleared somehow.

Naomi: I think they actually cleared the streets, from what I remember reading. They definitely qualify as zombies--like an updated 21st century zombie.

Jay: Yes! And zombies are always fun to read about or shoot up in video games.

Naomi: Zombies are fun in any context--especially Return of the Living Dead.

JJ: One of those really freaked me out as a kid. I'm not sure which one, though, because there are a few sequels.

Naomi: I love them. And the Evil Dead films. Just pure, trashy entertainment.

JJ: I've tried Evil Dead, but just can't quite get into it. Did you see Shaun of the Dead?

Naomi: I've actually managed to miss that one so far. I'm terrible. I buy piles of DVDs, then never watch them.

JJ: I've heard it's great, however, I just couldn't get into it, and I like British humour.

Naomi: We do good irony.

Jay: No question about that.

JJ: So tell me about your other interests. Do you have any hobbies?

Naomi: I'm about to take up salsa dancing in an attempt to get fit! Not sure how well that will work out. I go swimming when I can, but I'm mostly a couch potato. I like to spend my time watching retro cartoons and reading.

JJ: What are some of the retro cartoons you like?

Naomi: Thundercats, Bucky O'Hare and Visionaries are my current obsessions.

JJ: Thundercats! Thunder! THUNDER! THUNDERCATS HOOOOOO!

Naomi: It's a classic. I got my housemate the box set for her birthday. Best present ever!

JJ: It is! Who was your favorite character on Thundercats?

Naomi: Panthero! No contest. He was so cool compared to the others. They were all a bit uptight.

JJ: They were. I loved Mum-rah. That weakened shell that hid an even more dangerous monster.

Naomi: Oh yes. The bad guys are always the most fun.

Jay: Retro cartoons to me are Bugs Bunny and Road Runner. I guess that shows my age.

JJ: Let's talk about "Painless." What was your inspiration for that story?

Naomi: It was a combination of things. I'd been toying for a while with the idea of the Launen--the psychic group of social outcasts, but I couldn't really think up a plot to go with them. Then Theo popped into my head, fully formed, and I suddenly had this whole story laid out for me.

Jay: Theo Kane is an interesting name for a female character. Where did that stem from?

Naomi: Honestly, I flipped through a book of baby names.

Jay: Seriously? I've done that before.

Naomi: Usually when I think up a character I decide on a name really quickly, but it took a while to settle on Theo. She was slippery.

JJ: You used a lot of Chinese names that gave additional authenticity to the environment. Where did that knowledge come from?

Naomi: Lol--the baby names book again. No. I lived in London when I was younger, and the school I was at had a lot of Chinese, Japanese and Indian students, so for a while I was really immersed in those cultures.

Jay: In regard to Launen, is the idea for them something you came up with entirely on your own, or where you inspired by something else?

Naomi: Partly it was inspired by the X-Men, I have to confess. But a lot of it came from reading books where psychic characters were somehow regarded as superior to regular people. And I thought, in reality, people would be terrified if their neighbours could read their minds or control their thoughts.

JJ: I loved how the empath's powers work. I've actually never come across that before. Usually they are portrayed as helpless. Deanna Troi on Start Trek TNG, for example. So I really liked your take on empaths. I thought it was very original. How you demonstrated their power was to good effect.

Naomi: I really wanted to make them unique and dangerous--to give a clear reason why they'd be feared and pushed out of society.

Jay: I loved this line in your story: It's hard not to be scared of people who know your every thought before you can finish thinking it, know your every emotion before you have time to feel it.

Naomi: (*blushes*) Why thank you! I'm glad it worked--sometimes it's hard to strike a balance between clearly showing something and over-labouring the point.

Jay: The main protagonist, Theo Kane, is incapable of feeling pain. That's a really interesting characteristic. What led you to come up with that?

Naomi: I wanted her to be "different," but I also wanted her to have a gift that was also a curse. Being unable to feel pain seems so great at first, but then you realise your body has no way of telling you when you're ill, or hurt, or how badly you're hurt. it gives Theo an edge in her work, but it also makes her vulnerable.

JJ: Exactly! I was going to say, it's like she was invulnerable but vulnerable at the same time. It made her more real. She couldn't feel pain, but it was also a weakness. Her inability to feel pain didn't turn her into superwoman.

Jay: There's another great line in your story references that--when Theo reflects on the fact that she could accidentally walk on glass and not realize she's bleeding.

Naomi: Exactly--it's a double-edged sword.

JJ: It made her more real.

Jay: Very real. And the whole concept plays into the "darkness" theme well.

JJ: Tell me about all that lock picking expertise. Have you done that before? I felt like I learned something.

Jay: Yeah. The physical actions of Theo all came across as very realistic.

Naomi: The lock-picking--I was a troubled child... No. Actually, I found a great website called How Does It Work or something similar, which was invaluable in teaching me how to pick locks and crack safes.

Jay: Good job researching!

JJ: You used that knowledge extremely effectively. It didn't just seem informed--it felt like it was from experience--which is awesome.

Naomi: Thanks! I was worried that part of the story came across like a lecture.

JJ: Not at all. You painted such a vivid world.

Jay: In general, the characterizations where exceptional, especially Theo Kane.

JJ: I totally agree.

Naomi: I always think they're the most important to get right--if the characters seem real, the world comes across as more realistic too.

JJ: You proved that.

Jay: I loved Theo's hair color--"Midnight Violet".

Naomi: The hair dye? That came from my own personal longing for funky coloured hair.

Jay: Which reminds me of another point--you have a really great sense of subtle humor.

Naomi: I like to think so.

Jay: How she comments about her hair color not being practical for a thief--very funny, but in a subtle way.

JJ: Her sarcasm was hilarious.

Jay: Most definitely.

Naomi: lol. That occurred to me after I decided she would have purple hair. I thought it would be better to have her address the point than the reader go "that's a dumb hair colour for a thief."

JJ: hahaha! Nice!

Jay: Does that come natural for you or do you have to work at it?

Naomi: It's natural. Dialogue has always been my strength as a writer, I think.

Jay: It certainly shows in "Painless."

JJ: The dialogue was very good. It was apparent from the level of attention you put into the environment, as well as the characterization.

Naomi: It was fun to write--especially the conversation between Theo and Daniel.

Jay: It feels like that as you're reading. Your stylistic flow is great.

Naomi: Thank you. A lot of it was developed while I was working on my degree. Before my degree, my writing style was different. I hadn't really developed my own voice.

Jay: Right. So how was the degree program? Sounds like it helped to really develop/mature your writing abilities.

Naomi: A mixture--parts were brilliant, other parts less so. It definitely taught me how to write good short stories. I'd never really done it properly before university, and it's hard work--harder than people think.

Jay: Are you currently working on any major writing projects--fiction or otherwise?

Naomi: I've almost finished a novel I've been working on since the summer, about a heroin addict who becomes a werewolf. I'm also planning a novel with Theo in it for some time in the future.

Jay: That sounds pretty cool. Speaking of Theo, "Painless" almost ends as a kind of cliff hanger, with her seemingly being forced to do another unwanted job.

Naomi: Yeah. My original plan was three short stories, starting with "Painless." I started to write the second, which would pick up right after the first, but it just wasn't working.

Jay: I was going to say--it felt kind of like a series or sequel could be on the horizon.

Naomi: The novel, when I get to it, will probably incorporate the plot of "Painless," and expand it so she does end up doing the second, unwanted job.

Jay: Well, I for one would definitely be interested in reading the further adventures of Theo Kane!

Naomi: I'll let you know when the novel's done...

Jay: Great!

JJ: All right. I have to say we've really enjoyed talking with you this morning/afternoon. Before we go, is there anything else you'd like us to mention, any special plugs?

Naomi: Yes! I have a short story being published at Dark Fire e-zine early next year--a satire on the 80s slasher films. Plug plug!

Jay: Do you have any additional advice or words of encouragement for fans/readers you would like to add?

Naomi: I don't think so--except I hope I'll have plenty more stories published for them to enjoy!

JJ: Naomi, thanks for the great story. It's been a pleasure.

Naomi: It's been really fun talking to you both.

Jay: Absolutely! The feeling's mutual. Thanks a million for joining us for the interview--you have been wonderfully informative.

Naomi: Thanks for the opportunity!